Storage device carrier system

ABSTRACT

A storage device carrier system includes a carrier assembly configured to releasably engage a storage device and configured to be releasably received within a storage device bay within an IT component. An electrical coupler assembly is configured to electrically couple the storage device to the IT component. A thermal sealing assembly is configured to reduce the leakage of cooling air from around the storage device carrier system.

RELATED APPLICATION

The subject application claims the priority of China Patent ApplicationNo. 201710624429.1, filed on 27 Jul. 2017, the contents of which areherein incorporated by reference in its entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

This disclosure relates to storage device carriers and, moreparticularly, to storage device carriers that provide enhanced cooling.

BACKGROUND

In today's IT infrastructure, high availability is of paramountimportance. Specifically, critical (and sometimes non-critical)components within an IT infrastructure are often layered in redundancy.For example, primary servers may be supported by backup servers; primaryswitches may be supported by backup switches; primary power supplies maybe supported by backup power supplies; and primary storage systems maybe supported by backup storage systems.

Oftentimes, the various IT components mounted within IT racks consumeconsiderable power and, therefore, produce considerable heat.Accordingly, these various IT components need to be provided with amplecooling in order to avoid heat-related failures.

SUMMARY OF DISCLOSURE

In one implementation, a storage device carrier system includes acarrier assembly configured to releasably engage a storage device andconfigured to be releasably received within a storage device bay withinan IT component. An electrical coupler assembly is configured toelectrically couple the storage device to the IT component. A thermalsealing assembly is configured to reduce the leakage of cooling air fromaround the storage device carrier system.

One or more of the following features may be included. A latch assemblymay be configured to releasably lock the storage device carrier systemwithin the storage device bay of the IT component. The thermal sealingassembly may be configured to seal a fixed width air gap. The thermalsealing assembly may be configured to seal at least a portion of an airgap between the storage device carrier system and an adjacent storagedevice carrier system within the IT component. The thermal sealingassembly may include a first fixed-position fin assembly configured toextend a first longitudinal edge of the storage device carrier system.The thermal sealing assembly may include a second fixed-position finassembly configured to extend a second longitudinal edge of the storagedevice carrier system. The thermal sealing assembly may be configured toseal a variable width air gap. The thermal sealing assembly may beconfigured to seal at least a portion of an adjacent empty storagedevice bay within the IT component. The thermal sealing assembly mayinclude a first multi-position fin assembly configured to extend a firstlongitudinal edge of the storage device carrier system. The thermalsealing assembly may include a first fin latch assembly configured toreleasably lock the first multi-position fin assembly in one or morepositions. The thermal sealing assembly may include a secondmulti-position fin assembly configured to extend a second longitudinaledge of the storage device carrier system. The thermal sealing assemblymay include a second fin latch assembly configured to releasably lockthe second multi-position fin assembly in one or more positions. Thestorage device may be a solid state storage device. The storage devicemay be an electro-mechanical storage device.

In another implementation, a storage device carrier system includes acarrier assembly configured to releasably engage a storage device andconfigured to be releasably received within a storage device bay withinan IT component. An electrical coupler assembly is configured toelectrically couple the storage device to the IT component. A thermalsealing assembly is configured to reduce the leakage of cooling air fromaround the storage device carrier system. The thermal sealing assemblyincludes: a first fixed-position fin assembly configured to extend afirst longitudinal edge of the storage device carrier system, and asecond fixed-position fin assembly configured to extend a secondlongitudinal edge of the storage device carrier system.

One or more of the following features may be included. The thermalsealing assembly may be configured to seal a fixed width air gap. Thethermal sealing assembly may be configured to seal at least a portion ofan air gap between the storage device carrier system and an adjacentstorage device carrier system within the IT component.

In another implementation, a storage device carrier system includes acarrier assembly configured to releasably engage a storage device andconfigured to be releasably received within a storage device bay withinan IT component. An electrical coupler assembly is configured toelectrically couple the storage device to the IT component. A thermalsealing assembly is configured to reduce the leakage of cooling air fromaround the storage device carrier system. The thermal sealing assemblyincludes: a first multi-position fin assembly configured to extend afirst longitudinal edge of the storage device carrier system, and asecond multi-position fin assembly configured to extend a secondlongitudinal edge of the storage device carrier system.

One or more of the following features may be included. The thermalsealing assembly may be configured to seal a variable width air gap. Thethermal sealing assembly may be configured to seal at least a portion ofan adjacent empty storage device bay within the IT component.

The details of one or more implementations are set forth in theaccompanying drawings and the description below. Other features andadvantages will become apparent from the description, the drawings, andthe claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an IT rack and an IT component;

FIG. 2 is a diagrammatic view of a rack-mountable computing device foruse within the IT rack of FIG. 1;

FIG. 2A is a front view of the rack-mountable computing device of FIG.2;

FIG. 3 is a diagrammatic view of a storage device carrier system for usewithin the rack-mountable computing device of FIG. 2;

FIGS. 4A-4B are diagrammatic views of the rack-mountable computingdevice of FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is a diagrammatic views of a storage device carrier system(including a thermal sealing assembly) for use within the rack-mountablecomputing device of FIG. 2;

FIGS. 6A-6C are diagrammatic views of one implementation of the storagedevice carrier system of FIG. 5; and

FIGS. 7, 8A-8B and 9A-9B are diagrammatic views of anotherimplementation of the storage device carrier system of FIG. 5.

Like reference symbols in the various drawings indicate like elements.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Referring to FIG. 1, IT racks (e.g., IT rack 10) may be utilized tostore and organize IT components. For example, IT rack 10 may be placedwithin a computer room and various IT components (e.g., IT component 12)may be attached to rails (e.g., NEMA rails 14, 16) included within ITrack 10, wherein these rails (e.g., NEMA rails 14, 16) may have astandard and defined spacing between them (e.g., 19″). Typically, ITcomponents that are configured to fit within IT rack 10 may be describedas rack-mountable IT components.

Examples of the various IT components (e.g., IT component 12) mountablewithin IT rack 10 may include but are not limited to: server systems,disk array systems, storage processor systems, storage processor/disksystems, and battery backup systems.

IT rack 10 may include frame 18 (which may include one or more verticalsupports, horizontal supports, and cross braces) to which NEMA rails 14,16 may be attached. NEMA rails 14, 16 may include a plurality of evenlyspaced holes that may be configured for mounting the various ITcomponents within IT rack 10. By standardizing the spacing between NEMArails 14, 16, the various IT components that fit within a first IT rackmay also fit within a second IT rack.

Typically, IT racks are defined in accordance with the number of rackunits (U's) included within the rack. For example, a 1 U IT component ishalf as high as a 2 U IT component, which is half as high as a 4 U ITcomponent. Accordingly, while the number of rack units available withina particular IT rack may be rigidly defined by the size of the IT rack,the number of IT components mountable within that IT rack may varydepending upon the size (in rack units) of the particular IT componentsbeing mounted within that IT rack. Therefore, by reducing the number ofrack units that a particular IT component uses within an IT rack,additional IT computing devices may be mounted within the IT rack.

Referring to FIG. 2, there is shown one example of IT component 12,namely rack-mountable computing device 50. In this particularembodiment, rack-mountable computing device 50 may include a pluralityof individual components, examples of which may include but are notlimited to storage components, input/output components, and processingcomponents, any of which may be a field replaceable unit (FRU) that isserviceable in the field.

Storage components may be the portion of rack-mountable computing device50 that is configured to store data. Examples of such data may includebut are not limited to data that is generated remotely (e.g., byapplications that are executed on remote devices) or data that isgenerated locally (e.g., by applications that are executed onrack-mountable computing device 50). Accordingly, the storage componentmay be configured to include one or more storage devices, examples ofwhich may include but are not limited to one or more electro-mechanical(e.g., rotating-media) storage devices (e.g., SATA drives or SCSIdrives) and/or one or more solid state storage devices (e.g., flashdrives). For example and as shown in FIG. 2A, the storage component ofrack-mountable computing device 50 may be configured to include (in thisexample) twelve 2.5 inch form factor storage devices (e.g., storagedevices 52, 54, 56, 58, 60, 62, 64, 66, 68, 70, 72, 74) that areaccessible through the front panel of rack-mountable computing device50.

Input/output components of rack-mountable computing device 50 may be theportion of rack-mountable computing device 50 that is configured tocouple rack-mountable computing device 50 to a network infrastructure(e.g., network infrastructure 76), wherein network infrastructure 76 maybe configured to couple rack-mountable computing device 50 to otherrack-mountable computing devices, other IT components (e.g., serversystems, disk array systems, storage processor systems, storageprocessor/disk systems, and battery backup systems), other networkingdevices (e.g., switches, routers, bridges, wireless access points),and/or end user computing devices (e.g., desktop computers, laptopcomputers, notebook computers, smartphones, tablet computers, etc.).Examples of network infrastructure 76 may include but are not limited toan Ethernet infrastructure; a fiber channel infrastructure; and aninfiniband infrastructure.

Processing components of rack-mountable computing device 50 may be theportion of rack-mountable computing device 50 that is configured toprocess data, such as data that is generated remotely (e.g., byapplications that are executed on remote devices) or data that isgenerated locally (e.g., by applications that are executed onrack-mountable computing device 50). Accordingly, the processingcomponents of rack-mountable computing device 50 may be configured toinclude one or more microprocessors.

As the capabilities of rack-mountable computing device 50 continue toincrease, the power consumption of rack-mountable computing device 50may also continue to increase. And, therefore, the heat generated byrack-mountable computing device 50 may also continue to increase.Accordingly, enhanced methods of cooling rack-mountable computing device50 may be needed to avoid heat-related component failure.

Referring also to FIG. 3, there is shown storage device carrier system100. Storage device carrier system 100 may be configured to removeablysecure a storage device (e.g., storage device 102) within an enclosureassembly. Example of such an enclosure assembly may include but are notlimited to a chassis, a sub-chassis, an enclosure, and a sub-enclosure(or portion thereof) of rack-mountable computing device 50. Examples ofstorage device 102 may include but are not limited to solid statestorage devices and/or electro-mechanical storage devices (e.g., one ormore of storage devices 52, 54, 56, 58, 60, 62, 64, 66, 68, 70, 72, 74).

Accordingly and through the use of storage device carrier system 100,rack-mountable computing device 50 may be configured to be easilyserviceable in the field by service technicians. Specifically, storagedevices (e.g., storage device 102) may be easily removed from and/orinstalled into rack-mountable computing device 50 without requiring theuse of tools.

While the following discussion concerns storage device carrier system100 being utilized within rack-mountable computing device 50, this isfor illustrative purposes only and is not intended to be a limitation ofthis disclosure, as other configurations are possible and are consideredto be within the scope of this disclosure. For example, storage devicecarrier system 100 may be utilized within commercial-grade,non-rack-mountable computing devices or consumer-grade computingdevices.

Referring also to FIGS. 4A-4B, the storage devices within (in thisexample) rack-mountable computing device 50 may be densely packaged. Forexample, rack-mountable computing device 50 is shown in thisimplementation to include seventy-two storage devices (i.e., three rowsof twenty-four storage devices). Since some solid state storage devicesmay dissipate up to 25 watts of thermal energy each, the system shown inFIG. 4A (which includes seventy-two storage devices) may generate up to1,800 watts of thermal energy that will need to be dissipated in orderto avoid thermal failure.

Accordingly, rack-mountable computing device 50 may be configured toprovide cooling air that passes across the surfaces of (in this example)these seventy-two storage devices. As discussed above, rack-mountablecomputing device 50 may be configured to be easily serviceable in thefield by service technicians, wherein one or more of these seventy-twostorage devices (e.g., storage device 102) may be easily removed fromand/or installed into rack-mountable computing device 50 withoutrequiring the use of tools. Further and since rack-mountable computingdevice 50 may be configured for high availability, one or more of theseseventy-two storage devices (e.g., storage device 102) may be easilyremoved from and/or installed into rack-mountable computing device 50without requiring rack-mountable computing device 50 to be powered down.

Unfortunately and when the portion (e.g., drawer 150) of rack-mountablecomputing device 50 that contains (in this example) the seventy-twostorage devices is slid out of chassis 152 of rack-mountable computingdevice 50 (in a fashion similar to a drawer sliding out of a piece offurniture), cooling air intended to be circulated around the storagedevices may bleed out upward from the gaps between the storage devices(as represented by air bleed arrows 154) instead of passing through theentirety of rack-mountable computing device 50 and out of exhaust port156 proximate front surface 158 of rack-mountable computing device 50.This may result in uneven cooling and/or overheating of one or more of(in this example) the seventy-two storage devices.

For example, if one or more cooling fans (not shown) are positioned atthe rear of rack-mountable computing device 50 and provide positive airflow toward the front of rack-mountable computing device 50, when drawer150 is slid out of chassis 152, cooling air may bleed out upward fromthe gaps between the storage devices (as represented by air bleed arrows154), resulting in very little (if any) cooling air passing by the rowof twenty-four storage devices positioned proximate front surface 158 ofrack-mountable computing device 50. And this situation may result inthese twenty-four storage devices not being properly cooled and possiblyoverheating and/or failing.

Referring also to FIG. 5, there is shown a general implementation of astorage device carrier system that is configured to reduce/eliminate thebleeding of cooling air upward from the gaps between the storage devices(as represented by air bleed arrows 154, FIG. 4B). Accordingly, storagedevice carrier system 200 may include carrier assembly 202 configured toreleasably engage a storage device (e.g., storage device 102) andconfigured to be releasably received within a storage device bay withinan IT component (e.g., rack-mountable computing device 50). As discussedabove, examples of storage device 102 may include but are not limited tosolid state storage devices and/or electro-mechanical storage devices(e.g., one or more of storage devices 52, 54, 56, 58, 60, 62, 64, 66,68, 70, 72, 74).

Storage device carrier system 200 may include electrical couplerassembly 204 that may be configured to electrically couple storagedevice 102 to the IT component (e.g., rack-mountable computing device50). For example, coupler assembly 204 may include a first electricalconnector for releasably coupling storage device 102 to storage devicecarrier system 200 and a second electrical connector for releasablycoupling storage device carrier system 200 to a system board (not shown)included within the IT component (e.g., rack-mountable computing device50), thus allowing storage device carrier system 200 to be easilyremoved from (and/or inserted into) the IT component (e.g.,rack-mountable computing device 50) in the event that e.g., storagedevice 102 needs to be replaced.

As will be explained below in greater detail, storage device carriersystem 200 may include thermal sealing assembly 206 that may beconfigured to reduce the leakage of cooling air from around storagedevice carrier system 200. Storage device carrier system 200 may alsoinclude latch assembly 208 that may be configured to releasably lockstorage device carrier system 200 within a storage device bay of the ITcomponent (e.g., rack-mountable computing device 50).

Fixed-Position Fin Storage Device Carrier System

Referring also to FIGS. 6A-6C, there is shown one specificimplementation of storage device carrier system 200 (namely storagedevice carrier system 300) in which thermal sealing assembly 302 isconfigured to seal a fixed width air gap. For example, thermal sealingassembly 302 may be configured to seal at least a portion of the air gapbetween (in this example) storage device carrier system 300 and anadjacent storage device carrier system (e.g., storage device carriersystem 304 and/or storage device carrier system 306) within the ITcomponent (e.g., rack-mountable computing device 50).

Specifically and in this implementation, thermal sealing assembly 302may include a first fixed-position fin assembly (e.g., fixed-positionfin assembly 308) configured to extend a first longitudinal edge (e.g.,longitudinal edge 310) of storage device carrier system 300.Additionally, thermal sealing assembly 302 may include a secondfixed-position fin assembly (e.g., fixed-position fin assembly 312)configured to extend a second longitudinal edge (e.g., longitudinal edge314) of the storage device carrier system 300. Accordingly, thecombination of fixed-position fin assemblies 308, 312 may effectivelyclose the air gaps through which the bleeding of cooling air occurs (asrepresented by air bleed arrows 154, FIG. 4B).

Multi-Position Fin Storage Device Carrier System

Referring also to FIG. 7, there is shown one specific implementation ofstorage device carrier system 200 (namely storage device carrier system400) in which thermal sealing assembly 402 is configured to seal avariable width air gap. Thermal sealing assembly 402 may include firstmulti-position fin assembly 404 configured to extend first longitudinaledge 406 of storage device carrier system 400. Additionally, thermalsealing assembly 402 may include second multi-position fin assembly 408configured to extend second longitudinal edge 410 of storage devicecarrier system 400.

As will be discussed below, first multi-position fin assembly 404 andsecond multi-position fin assembly 408 may be configured to be locked invarious positions. Accordingly, thermal sealing assembly 402 may includefirst fin latch assembly 412 configured to releasably lock firstmulti-position fin assembly 404 in one or more positions. Additionally,thermal sealing assembly 402 may include second fin latch assembly 414configured to releasably lock second multi-position fin assembly 408 inone or more positions.

Referring also to FIGS. 8A-8B, thermal sealing assembly 402 may beconfigured to seal at least a portion of the air gap between (in thisexample) storage device carrier system 400 and an adjacent storagedevice carrier system (e.g., storage device carrier system 416 and/orstorage device carrier system 418) within the IT component (e.g.,rack-mountable computing device 50). For example, first multi-positionfin assembly 404 may be unlocked (via first fin latch assembly 412) andextended outward to contact second fin assembly 420 of storage devicecarrier system 416; and second multi-position fin assembly 408 may beunlocked (via second fin latch assembly 414) and extended outward tocontact first multi-position fin assembly 404 of storage device carriersystem 418. Accordingly, the combination of multi-position finassemblies 404, 408 may effectively close the air gaps through which thebleeding of cooling air occurs (as represented by air bleed arrows 154,FIG. 4B).

Additionally and referring also to FIGS. 9A-9B, thermal sealing assembly402 may be configured to seal at least a portion of an adjacent emptystorage device bay (e.g., empty storage bay 424) within the IT component(e.g., rack-mountable computing device 50). For example, secondmulti-position fin assembly 408 may be unlocked (via second fin latchassembly 414) and extended outward to contact first multi-position finassembly 426 of storage device carrier system 428. Accordingly, thecombination of multi-position fin assemblies 408, 426 may effectivelyclose the air gap caused by empty storage bay 424 through which thebleeding of cooling air occurs (as represented by air bleed arrows 154,FIG. 4B).

General:

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particularembodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the disclosure.As used herein, the singular forms “a”, “an” and “the” are intended toinclude the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicatesotherwise. It will be further understood that the terms “comprises”and/or “comprising,” when used in this specification, specify thepresence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements,and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of oneor more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements,components, and/or groups thereof.

The corresponding structures, materials, acts, and equivalents of allmeans or step plus function elements in the claims below are intended toinclude any structure, material, or act for performing the function incombination with other claimed elements as specifically claimed. Thedescription of the present disclosure has been presented for purposes ofillustration and description, but is not intended to be exhaustive orlimited to the disclosure in the form disclosed. Many modifications andvariations will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the artwithout departing from the scope and spirit of the disclosure. Theembodiment was chosen and described in order to best explain theprinciples of the disclosure and the practical application, and toenable others of ordinary skill in the art to understand the disclosurefor various embodiments with various modifications as are suited to theparticular use contemplated.

A number of implementations have been described. Having thus describedthe disclosure of the present application in detail and by reference toembodiments thereof, it will be apparent that modifications andvariations are possible without departing from the scope of thedisclosure defined in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A storage device carrier system comprising: acarrier assembly configured to releasably engage a storage device andconfigured to be releasably received within a storage device bay withinan IT component; an electrical coupler assembly configured toelectrically couple the storage device to the IT component; and athermal sealing assembly configured to reduce the leakage of cooling airfrom around the storage device carrier system, wherein the thermalsealing assembly includes: a first multi-position fin assembly thatadjustably extends, via a first fin latch, a first longitudinal edge ofthe storage device carrier system, and a second multi-position finassembly that adjustably extends, via a second fin latch, a secondlongitudinal edge of the storage device carrier system, wherein thefirst multi-position fin assembly and the second multi-position finassembly outwardly extend from their respective fin latch to makecontact, wherein the contact between the first multi-position finassembly and the second multi-position fin assembly effectively closesthe variable width air gap around the storage device carrier systemthrough which the leakage of cooling air occurs.
 2. The storage devicecarrier system of claim 1 wherein the thermal sealing assembly isconfigured to seal a variable width air gap.
 3. The storage devicecarrier system of claim 2 wherein the thermal sealing assembly isconfigured to seal at least a portion of an adjacent empty storagedevice bay within the IT component.
 4. The storage device carrier systemof claim 1 wherein the first fin latch is configured to releasably lockthe first multi-position fin assembly in one or more positions.
 5. Thestorage device carrier system of claim 1 wherein the second fin latch isconfigured to releasably lock the second multi-position fin assembly inone or more positions.